TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 18, 2016) - RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan") (TSX:REI.UN) today announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange has approved its notice of intention to make a normal course issuer bid for a portion of its trust units ("Units") as appropriate opportunities arise from time to time. RioCan's normal course issuer bid will be made in accordance with the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Pursuant to the notice, RioCan is authorized to acquire up to a maximum of 8,128,045 of its Units, or approximately 2.5% of its 325,121,826 outstanding Units as of September 30, 2016, for cancellation over the next 12 months. Purchases under the normal course issuer bid will be made through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange or through a Canadian alternative trading system and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements at a price per Unit equal to the market at the time of acquisition. The number of Units that can be purchased pursuant to the bid is subject to a current daily maximum of 120,555 Units (which is equal to 25% of 482,221, being the average daily trading volume from April 1, 2016 through to September 30, 2016), subject to RioCan's ability to make one block purchase of Units per calendar week that exceeds such limits. Any Units purchased under the normal course issuer bid will be cancelled upon their purchase. RioCan intends to fund the purchases out of its available cash and undrawn credit facilities. No Units were purchased by RioCan pursuant to its previous normal course issuer bid, which expired August 6, 2016.

RioCan may begin to purchase Units on or about October 20, 2016 and the bid will terminate on October 19, 2017 or such earlier time as RioCan completes its purchases pursuant to the bid or provides notice of termination. RioCan believes that the purchase of its Units may represent an investment opportunity for the trust and an appropriate and desirable use of its funds based on market conditions, unit price and other factors.

About RioCan

RioCan is Canada's largest real estate investment trust with a total enterprise value of approximately $15 billion as at June 30, 2016. RioCan owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests in a portfolio of 302 Canadian retail and mixed use properties, including 15 properties under development, containing an aggregate net leasable area of 45 million square feet. For further information, please refer to RioCan's website at www.riocan.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to management's beliefs, plans, estimates, and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "objective", "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "should", "plans" or "continue", or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. All forward-looking statements in this News Release are qualified by these cautionary statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance and, by their nature, are based on RioCan's estimates and assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described under "Risks and Uncertainties" in RioCan's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ended June 30, 2016, which could cause actual events or results described above to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those related to: liquidity and general market conditions, tenant concentrations and related risk of bankruptcy or restructuring (and the terms of any bankruptcy or restructuring proceeding), occupancy levels and defaults, access to debt and equity capital, interest rates, joint ventures and partnerships, the relative illiquidity of real property, unexpected costs or liabilities related to acquisitions and dispositions, development risk associated with construction commitments, project costs and related approvals; environmental matters, litigation, reliance on key personnel, unitholder liability, income and indirect taxes, credit ratings, RioCan's qualification as a real estate investment trust for tax purposes and that RioCan may choose not to, or may be unable to, purchase Units pursuant to the normal course issuer bid. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to: a stable retail environment; relatively low and stable interest costs; a continuing trend toward land use intensification, including residential development in urban markets; access to equity and debt capital markets to fund, at acceptable costs, future capital requirements and to enable the Trust to refinance debts as they mature; and the availability of purchase opportunities for growth. Although the forward-looking information contained in this News Release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Certain statements included in this News Release may be considered "financial outlook" for purposes of applicable securities laws, and such financial outlook may not be appropriate for purposes other than this News Release.

Except as required by applicable law, RioCan undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.